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The circumcinctus subspecies of Piping Plover breeds primarily in prairie Canada. with a few breeding pairs in Ontario. The best information on population trends comes from the International Piping Plover Census, which has been conducted at five-year intervals since 1991. In 2011, the population for the entire interior subspecies was estimated as 1033 adults, down from 1437 in 1991 (COSEWIC 2013c). The 2011 count might underestimate numbers because of unusually high flooding in the Canadian prairies that may have displaced some birds from their usual breeding areas where the census takes place (COSEWIC 2013c). An overall decline of 22.9% since 1991 (with a decline of 12.2% between 2001 and 2011) was estimated (COSEWIC 2013c). Colour banding studies have demonstrated that breeding individuals are considerably more site fidelic than expected since habitats in the prairies are prone to drought and flooding. Very little movement of individuals between Canada and the United States has been noted (Roche et al. 2012). Never abundant in Ontario, circumcinctus Piping Plovers remain very rare there. The first nest since 1977 was observed in 2007; 8 breeding pairs were reported in Ontario in 2014, the highest observed since 1977. Given the rate of decrease since 1991, it is reasonable to assume this subspecies has shown a moderate decrease relative to 1970. However, because of the poor information prior to 1991 and large year-to-year variability in census results this assessment is considered to be of only medium reliability.
Additional information on: International Piping Plover Census
